Arts and Happiness

Abstract

This chapter discusses public policy considerations in the cultural sector and addresses the problems of measuring the value of art and culture. I consider two possible ways to combine cultural economics with happiness research, to measure potential benefits from culture and the arts. Firstly, I look at the supply side and discuss artists’ labor market choices. I show how the interdisciplinary approach established by modern happiness research enriches the neoclassical rational choice approach with procedural aspects of work. Secondly, I investigate the demand side and discuss how the life satisfaction approach can be used to measure the economic impact of hosting a European Capital of Culture. The effects of arts and culture on life satisfaction, on both the consumption and the production sides, have strong management and policy consequences and are relevant for society as a whole.